ODESSA - MY NATIVE CITY

Odessa

Odessa. What's about this city ? A
young one, but this promising to increase, in 1994 year Odessa celebrated its 200th
anniversary.

Let's the some back to the date of its birth. On the 27 May 1794
russian queen Catherine signed the order prescribing to laid the fortification on the
shores of Khadzibey bay and to start the harbour development.

The 2 September 1794 under the surveiyng of General Major duke Suvorov
they begun the foundatory works for future port. From the height of the present day it is
not so easy to picture what tremendous efforts and civic courage were required of the
Khadzibey's pioneers.

After, the fortress and the port which idea suggested by Suvorov, gave
rise to the future town. Firstly, not more than 30 buildings in stone were erected along
the harbour. An arsenal, storehouses, hospital frontier control and carantin buildings
were built by first Khadzibey's inhabitants: soldiers, kossaks and sailors of Deribas'
float. On 1795 the fortress has been renamed into Odessa.

The development of Odessa has much in common with that of Petersburg
which was often referred to as the "Nothern Palmira". Odessa was founded on the
Black Sea coast as a "window on Europe", and just like Petersburg, it sprang up
in an undeveloped area, far from inhabited lands.

And now it is not by mere chance when we say that the city's history is
rich and various. Different factors have influenced to the rapid and considerable progress
of its economics. The seaport of Odessa representing this one of high importance for
foreign hade in the region, shortly the city became one of the biggest centers of
developed industry and science. While Odessa is famous for its cultural traditions and
fine architecture, on a sightseeing tour of the city, the visitors become familiar not
only with the most original and known part of Odessa, but with its, not without reasons to
be said, rich history. We are proud that a whole galaxy artists, poets and scientists made
a

considerable contribution to its glory extending. Suffice it to mention
such prominent figures as Mechnikov, Pirogov, Mendeleev, Pushkin and Bunin lived here. The
Odessa

Theatre of Opera and Ballet, known not only in Ukraine, but in Europe,
heared the singing of Shalyapin and Sobinov, sow performences of Tchaikovsky and
Rimsky-Korsakov. Today the city's population members about 1,5 million, but Odessa is
still developing.

Odessa seaport.

Socialist Revolution, a grand complex was completed, which comprises
ramp bridge across the railway lines, warehouses on the Novy Pier and a new building for
the seaport. The architects V. Golovin and V. Kremlyakov succeeded in creating a modern
transport centre, the "sea gates" of Odessa. The specific arrangement and the
form of the structural elements, sloping galleries and transparent surfaces produce a
peculiar effect as if the structure is reaching the sea horizon. The spacious main hall
brightly lit by the sun through large windows is particulary impressive.

Monument to A. Pushkin

By the monument to the great poet...

...The Odessa period of Pushkin's art was a frutful one. During 13
months of his staying here (from 03.07.1823 to 01.08.1824) the great poet begun to work
under "Tzigans" poem, wrote "The fountain of Bakhchisaray" and two
chapters of "Eugene Onegin" novel. The odessits honoured the memory of the
talented artist; now one of the main street of the city is named after Alexander Pushkin.
The monument to Alexander Pushkin, located just opposite the Municipal Building, was
unveiled in 1889. A bronze bust of the great poet was modelled by the sculptor Zh.
Polonskaya. A granite pedestal executed according to the plan drawn up by the architect
Kh. Vasilyev, is given the form of a truncated pyramid Kh. Vasilyev, is given the form of
a truncated pyramid Kh. Vasilyev, is given the form of a truncated pyramid edges. Water
jetting from the fishes' mouths flows down into the shell-shaped bowis of iron placed on
the granite stylobate.

Architecture and Monuments of Odessa

Odessa is one of the major ports and an important centre of industry,
science and culture. Odessa's mild climate, warm waters and sunlit beaches attract
thousands of people year around. Its shady lanes, beautiful buildings and cosy squares
impart to the city a certain air of intimacy. Odessa is simply enchanting with its
marvellous architecture. The city proved itself fertile ground for varios architectural
styles. Some buildings display a carious mixture of different styles, and some are built
in the Art Nouveau Style which was in vogue at the turn of the century. A number of other
buildings were done in Renaissance or Classicist styles which again returned to favour
early this century.

The record of the various types of structures illustrates the city's
past, brief yet eventful. Odessa is young, its history goes back to the late 18th century,
when a small settlement named Khadzhibei was made on the Black Sea shore in the vast
steppe wilderness which Russia reclaimed from Turkey shortly before. Later, the settlement
was given the name of Odessa. It was destined to become the pearl of the Black Sea
Maritime region, its "Southern Palmira". This commercial city on the sea coast
grew at an accelerated pace, its population considerably increased and in the early 20th
century it totalled over half a million residents, by far more than in the older cities,
and ranked third after Petersburg and Moscow.

The first city plan designed by the engineer F. Devollan in the late 18th
century was executed by the generations of Odessa architects that followed. As early as
the first half of the 19th century, the numerous landowners who had moved to Odessa
attracted by the profitable grain traid, started constructing their private residences. As
a rule, they would build palace compounds: two-storeyed mansions with forecourts, wrought

iron grilles and porticos indicating the entrance. Even today, the
formal halls of these palaces are strikingly opulent. The mansions of wealthy merchants
and factory-owners built to the designs of the best Odessa architects were concealed in
the verdure of Frantsuzsky Boulevard. Alexander Kuprin, the prominent Russian author,
wrote of Odessa in his "Autumnal Flowers":

"Flashing on the left and on the right are enchanting glimpses of
Odessa millionaires' villas with extravagant openwork grilles, decorated with dragons and
coats-of-arms; brightly lit terraces in the depth of the gardens adorned with Chinese
lanterns, a kaleidoscope of colours in the foregardens and on the flowerbeds; rare plants
with intoxicating aromas..."

The architectural ensemble of Primorsky Boulevard attests to the high
standards of Odessa architects. Designed as the compositional pivot of the city, the
Boulevard runs along the sealine. The middle section of the Boulevard is occupied by the
semi-circular square with the monument to A.-E.Richelieu in the centre. The buildings of
the stock exchange and the Vorontsov Palace terminate the Boulevard on each end to form an
integral balanced whole. The architectural rhythm of Primorsky Boulevard, enhanced by
horizontal terraces, is interrupted by the vertical line of the grandiose Stairs terraces,
is interrupted by the vertical line of the grandiose Stairs which were given the name of
Potemkin.

Odessa has preserved its inimitable architectural aspect through the
decades. It was precisely in the latter half of the 19th century that a number
of the significant monuments of architecture, including the Theatre of Opera and Ballet,
the buildings of the New Stock Exchange, pawnshop and public library were erected. The
best representatives of a new generation of architects designed projects which proved most
effective and at the same time, the architects took into account the characteristic traits
of the southern town. Many buildings in Odessa were built of shell-limestone, which seemed
to be saturated with hot sunshine. The shell-limestone was simultaneously extracted from
different deposits which resulted in the formation of an entire labyrinth of underground
galleries. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941 - 1945, Odessa partisans operated from
these underground passeges which were inaccesible to the fascists. It is long ago that
guns ceased thundering, gunsmoke dissipated and the trenches grew with grass... Odessa
land has held sacred the memory of those who, at the cost of their lives, upheld freedom
of the country...

The city has preserved the memory of Pushkin, who, when young, strolled
along the newly laid-out alleys of Primorsky Boulevard. These streets were treaded by Yu.
Olesha, V. Katayev, I. Babel, S. Kirsanov, I. Ilf, Ye. Petrov, K. Paustovsky and E.
Bagritsky.

It is only natural that today laconic forms of modern architecture, new
materials and a large scale of housing construction have considerably altered the city
skyline. New all-embracing projects have been adopted and completed. The development of
the city architecture continues...

Suvorov Memorial

Memorial erected on the site of a bastion of the earthen fortress The
grounds of the present-day stadium were once the site of a fortress surrounded by an
earthen rampart. It was built in 1793 to the plan eleborated by the engineer F. Devollan
and approved by A. Suvorov, who at that time was entrusted with the defence of the
Southern Russia. In 1891, one of the fortress bastions was replaced by a granite column to
the design of the

architect N. Barinov. It was reconstructed in 1978 and a memorial
plaque was attached featuring a bas-relief representation of A. Suvorov, the great Russian
military commander.

Monument to the governor Vorontsov

A bronze statue of M.S. Vorontsov stands on a high pedestal of Crimean
diorite in the Soviet Army Square. This monument to the governor-general of the
Novorossiysk Territory was erected in 1863. Authors of monument are sculptor F. Brugger
from Munich and architect F. Boffod from Odessa.

The Potemkin Stairs

The Potemkin Stairs are a formal entrance into the city from the
direction of the sea. Sure, each city has it own place of mostly pronounced originality.
For Odessa, no doubt, it will be Potemkin Stairs. The stairs leading from Prymorsky
Boulevard down to the sea were constructed from 1837 through 1841 to the design of the
architect F. Bofford. This imposing monument numbers 192 stairsarranged in ten flights and
flanked by two-metre thick parapets. The difference in width between the highest (13.4 m)
and the lowest (21.6 m) flights produces an optical illusion that enhances the grandeur of
the structure. Originally, the stairs were faced with grey Trieste sandstone. With time,
however, the sandstone weathered and was replaced with granite.

The famous Potemkin Stairs serve as a symbol of the city. It has
recently been complemented with ramp overbridges to extend as far as the Novy Pier, where
a modern structure of the new seaport is located on a high platform. Memorial plagues
state that it was on precisely this spot that the first Odessa buildings were founded in
1794.

The Maxim Gorky State Scientific Library

In 1830, a public library, the second in the country, (the first was in
Petersburg) was set up in Odessa. The premises for the library was specially designed by
the architect F. Nesturkh and built in 1904-1906. The building is characterized by a
clear-cut and functional design. The architectural elements derived fron antique
architecture - caryatides over the cornice, a portico, and ornamental profiles - were
extensively used in the building architecture. The library fund, founded in 1829, includes
more than 4 mln volumes, that including an original collection of 2000 manuscripts and
7000 of rare editions, which are ancient literature monuments (X - XI centures), first
printed editions samples, Peter the Great period's books, "Divina comedia" of
XIX century's edition, and others.